Fallen Heroes
by SGAngeL
Summary: After the events of Heroes, Sam tries to deal with the loss of her friend. JackSam


Title: Fallen Heroes

Author: SGAngeL

Rating: PG

Season: Season 7, after Heroes

Spoilers: Heroes

Summary: After the events of Heroes, Sam tries to deal with the loss of her firend.

Pairing: Sam/Jack

Disclaimer: Stargate and its characters aren't mine. This story is purely for enjoyment. If

you think that I actually own Stargate you're insane! I can only dream.

Author's Notes: I was sorting through my floppys when I stumbled upon this and decided to finish it!

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"Fallen Heroes"

Sam stood, staring at the flower covered grave before her. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she fought them away. It was hard to believe that the last week had happened. She'd come so close to losing one person she cared about, and at the same time she'd lost another.

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to erase the picture of her friend's lifeless body as it was carried through the 'gate. How many more people had to die before all this would end? She wasn't sure if she could handle losing another person.

Had it really been only seven days? Only seven days ago that she'd been sitting with her friend in the Commissary laughing over the Colonel's latest antics? It seemed so wrong that so suddenly the life could be ripped from a person, leaving a cold, empty void in the world.

A tear escaped and slid down her cheek. She didn't bother to wipe it away as she once again focused on the gravestone. Janet had so much more life ahead of her, but it had all been ended by that one shot. Sam prayed that the Jaffa on the other end of that blast had been killed during the battle. She swore that she'd revenge her friend's death, that they would conquer every last Goa'uld before her own death.

Sam shivered from a cold breeze that ripped through the morning, autumn air. But that went unnoticed, as more tears flowed freely down her icy cheeks. She'd stood in the same exact spot less than 24 hours ago at the official funeral. Cassie's hand had been gripped tightly in her own as she wept for her lost mother. Sam had held her own tears in, keeping up the brave soldier routine, while inside she felt herself being ripped to pieces.

Was this all the world had to offer? She'd saved the world many times over, and all she got in return was pain and suffering. It didn't exactly sound like a fair bargain.

Somebody, suddenly, stepped up next to her. She didn't even have to turn her head to figure out who it was. It was like a sixth sense; she could always tell when he was nearby. He didn't even acknowledge her presence, he just stared at the fresh grave before them.

Sam didn't bother to try hiding the tears; didn't bother to hide her pain. She was sick of hiding, sick of everyone expecting her to be brave. Would it hurt to be human once in a while?

They stood side by side for several silent minutes. The tears, which no longer fell down her cheeks, were dried by the wind. After a while, Jack stepped forward, and placed some flowers before the headstone. His gray hair rustled in the breeze as he resumed his position next to her.

"Where's Cassie?"

"Back at the house. She was sleeping when I left." Her eyes didn't stray from the stone as she spoke. She'd been the one to inform Cassie of the news, and she thought that she'd never done something so hard before in her life. The girl had been as upset as expected, but it was so hard for Sam to look at her, as every time she did, it reminded her of when she'd lost her own mother. But it was harder for Cassie, as this was not the first time she'd lost a parent.

Another strong, chilly breeze ripped by her, and Sam once again shivered. She'd been foolish not to grab her jacket when she'd slipped silently out of the house. A warm jacket was suddenly draped over her shoulders, and she finally tore her eyes from her friend, Janet Fraiser's grave, to look into Jack's warm, brown eyes. His pain was written so clearly in them. Gone was the emotional shield.

Sam hugged the jacket tighter around her shoulders, embracing its warmth.

It was seven days ago when the world had stopped turning. She'd seen him get hit, and fall to the ground. She'd raced to his side, searching, panic-stricken, for a pulse. It had been a direct hit, right in the chest. She knew what his chances were. The whole world faded out around her, there was no noise, no shooting or shouting, it was just her and him as she searched for the faintest beat of his heart.

Never had she felt such relief as when she'd felt a pulse, weak, but it was there. Her only concern was to get him back to Earth. Never would she have imagined that at the same moment Janet Fraiser was lying dead just a few hundred metres from her.

For the briefest moment, though, when she'd watched him fall, she thought she'd lost him. So many feelings had flooded her mind; regret and anger, sadness, but above all she'd felt empty. If he was gone would she be able to take the next step? The next breath?

"Is it wrong that I'm thankful it wasn't you? Does that make me a horrible person?" Sam choked out.

Jack's eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head. "No. God no! You aren't a horrible person, Sam, and you never could be."

Sam shivered as he spoke her name, and a small sob broke through. She felt like she, Samantha Carter, was finally breaking after so many years. She couldn't remember crying so much in her whole life, as much she had in the last week.

"Come here." She barely heard his words as they caught in the breeze, but she eagerly stepped closer to him, falling into his embrace. Moments like these were usually short and far between, but this time she clung to him, like he was her anchor to the world.

"Will it ever get better?" Sam wasn't sure if she'd meant the pain from Janet's death, or life in general.

Jack understood though as he held her tighter, and whispered in her ear, "It will, I promise."

The End-

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A/N: This was experimental at best, please let me know what you thought! And I really appreciate you reading this. I hope you enjoyed it! 


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